Nonprofit reunites with adopters of golden retrievers

ROB VARELA/THE STAR
Todd Cohen, of Los Angeles, hugs his golden retriever, Halle, at the Forever Friends Golden Retriever Rescue reunion Sunday at Camarillo Grove Park in Camarillo. Cohen adopted Halle, who has a urinary tract problem due to a birth defect, from Forever Friends. She had been given to the rescue organization by a breeder after the person who bought her returned her to the breeder.

Ventura County Star

When Richard Adam's dog, Buddy, died several months ago, he knew he had to have another one. He'd only had Buddy for three years.

"He died suddenly, and we're not sure what happened," Adam said. "I just knew I wanted another dog."

Adam, of Ventura, found Forever Friends Golden Retriever Rescue group online and within a short time adopted a 1-year-old golden retriever named Danny Boy.

"He was pretty screwed up. He wouldn't wear a leash, wouldn't get out of the car. He was afraid of his food dish," Adam said.

On Sunday morning, Adam and Danny Boy attended a Forever Friends reunion at Camarillo Grove Park along with some 75 other golden retrievers and their families. Danny Boy was on a leash, walking next to his master and allowing people to pet him and other dogs to do the obligatory dog-sniff greeting.

Forever Friends started holding reunions in 2011 so that adoptive families could network with and support one another and show how the dogs were progressing. The reunions also have raffles to raise funds for the group.

"It's not an uncommon story," said Amy Murphy, a board member of Forever Friends who lives in Moorpark. "These dogs are so social. They want to please people, and even if they have issues, sometimes they just begin to adapt pretty well."

Forever Friends is a nonprofit golden retriever rescue group run by about 50 volunteers out of their homes.

"We rescue these dogs as young as 2 days old and as old as 12y ears," said Ruth Di Gregorio, president of Forever Friends. "They come to us in all kinds of different ways and some in pretty rough shape. We're committed to getting them back to health and finding them families."

Through a network of foster families, Forever Friends has cared for about 295 dogs since September of 2009.

"They're just such a loving breed," Murphy said. "They're a lot of fun, but they're not really for the faint of heart, either."

Murphy has two golden retrievers she adopted, Winston and Sunny.

In 2011, The Star published a story about Winston, who was hit by a car in Ojai and had to have his hip joint removed.

"There's something about nursing an animal back to health," Murphy said. "It makes it harder to let go of them, and so I adopted him."

Di Gregorio said the most important characteristics of golden retrievers are their need to be with a family, their high levels of energy and sociability and their heavy shedding.

"I sweep up enough hair to make a new puppy every day," she said.

Murphy said the group spends about $38,000 each year on animal care. Most of the amount is veterinary bills, and the group works with a veterinarian who gives discounts, she said.

Di Gregorio said Forever Friends likes to find families in Ventura County to adopt the dogs.

"We like to stay in touch with the families and the dogs," Di Gregorio said. "We're very transparent about all the information we get on an animal. If we know it, the adopting family will know it, too."

Murphy said the hardest dogs to adopt out are the older ones and that the group has a pilot program in which senior dogs are partnered with retirees and senior citizens who are looking for an animal.

"We're always looking for more volunteers and foster families," Murphy said. "The more, the merrier."